WEST PERSIA, CIRCA 1890

The intricate lattice design of split-palmettes on the present carpet began to be woven in north west Persia in the 18th century. In her article 'A Group of Inscribed Carpets from Persian Kurdistan', HALI, vol.4, no.2, 1981, pp.124-127, Annette Ittig discusses a small group of finely woven carpets with inscriptions, commissioned by an eminent figure from the district of Garrus and dated between AH 1295/1878-9 AD and AH 1324/1906-7 AD. These carpets are characterised by their quality and design of large scrolling arabesques and floral shrub motifs derived from 16th and 17th century carpets such as the Bernheimer 'Vase' carpet fragment sold in these Rooms, 14 February 1996, lot 150.

The border design of polychrome palmettes linked by and enclosed within leafy flowering vine is unusually woven on an ivory ground which accentuates the variety of rich natural dyes. A large Bijar carpet with a central medallion but the same border design on an ice-blue ground in a private collection, is illustrated by John J. Collins Jr. in, 'Power and Simplicity, The Evolution of the Central Medallion Design in Bijar Rugs, 1840-1940', HALI 111, pp.67-75, fig.6. Woven into the field design on a miniature scale in at least six places, are a series of small faces set within radiating suns suggestive of the shams element of the Persian national emblem.